Romney: Chicago teachers turning backs on students

CHICAGO (AP) -- Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says Chicago teachers are turning their backs on thousands of students and President Barack Obama is siding with the striking teachers.

Romney, in a statement released Monday hours before he was set to land in Chicago for fundraisers, says he is disappointed by the Chicago teachers' decision to walk out of negotiations. Romney says he sides with parents and students over unionized teachers.

Thousands of teachers walked off the job in Chicago's first schools strike in 25 years. The walkout by 26,000 teachers and support staff in the nation's third-largest school district affects almost 400,000 students.

Romney has been critical of public employee unions, including teachers. Romney says union interests run counter to students' education.

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Rating: 9.3/10 (73 votes cast)

Romney: Chicago teachers turning backs on students, 9.3 out of 10 based on 73 ratings

Let them ALL go as Reagan did with the air traffic controllers. Hire non-union teachers, privatize the whole school system and teach them thingS like reading, writing, history, geography and math, instead of sex edu., homosexuality, transgender studies etc. Someone has to stop the madness.
Obama’s and all the idiots in his administration have to go.

Has anyone noticed that the teachers in Chicago have a class load of about 15 students per teacher? Has anyone noticed that with classes that large, the teachers are so over stressed that they need their demands met. It is not like when I was in school and the classes averaged 28 students per teacher. I could be wrong about the class sizes, 26000 teachers, but that does not mean that they all have classes. If only 13000 have classes than that would double the average class size to 30. But back to that strike. They have settled for about a 16% increase in wage and benefits over the next 4 years. What private business would approve such demands? I thought that our education system was suppose to be intelligent.
The students need to be instructed, if the teachers do not want to teach, they should be dismissed, We have many qualified, educated, unemployed people that would be happy to step in, and probably do a much better job that those that depend on the union to protect their job.

Could it be that two left wing liberal socialiat Democrat entities known for being corrupt are having a lover’s quarrel; Democrat politicos and Democrat unions. Such unrequited love. Unfornunately neither of them actually has ever held the students as a primary concern, only tolls and pawns in a game!

Discontented School Teachers should find a more rewarding livelyhood in these trying financial times, instead of making a mockery of the traditionally dedicated altroistic teaching profession.
I guess that type of over riding self centered behahior has come to be expected from Rahm Emanuel’s cultural venue.
And what about our Saviour-and-Chief Obama siding with the throngs of irate School Teacher Union protesters.
We have a Presidential election coming up shortly…
It is a contest of “Mormon vs Moron”…..Vote.

Of course O would side with the teachers, one of the biggest unions in the country. I think what these teachers are doing in absolutely disgraceful. I understand they wanted 30% more but don’t know if was benefits packages or pay and Emanuel offered 2% which is all Chicago can afford right now and they turned it down. Don’t ever tell me that teachers are in teaching because they love the kids. Their pay already is $70,000 per teacher with excellent benefit packages. I hope Emanual does not back down. I would like to see him pull a Ronald Reagan and fire them out, but I don’t think he has the guts to go against his buddy, O

I say let them have the raise in pay and the top of the line benifits and since so many people are out of work to pay for it we should tax them for all the increase at a higher rate just like Obama wants to do to the rich.

Whenever it suits their argument teachers are fond of thinking of themselves as ‘government’ workers, and the schools as ‘government buildings’.

It makes it so handy when banning prayer and other unalienable rights.

I have always had the impression that ‘government workers’ are not allowed to strike. If true, the ‘no longer employed’ teachers should be given the opportunity to reapply for their ‘former’ jobs … if anybody is feeling extra generous.

They should understand, of course, that conditions of employment have changed …

What a wonderful opportunity! Ironically Face the Facts USA posted this yesterday:
” Pack the kids off to school, then read this: the federal government has spent more than $293 billion in the past decade to improve student academic performance, on top of a combined $5.5 trillion spent by the states, but reading and math proficiency levels haven’t budged. A quarter of high school seniors don’t meet basic reading standards and a third fall below basic math proficiency.

Some of us want the Romney campaign to “Go big” so why not this issue? Chicago is the poster child for failed education in the U.S. And it epitomizes what’s wrong with public servants being allowed to strike against the public. The multi-billions in unfundable public pensions and healthcare benefits are proof of what happens when unions get to negotiate with the people they elect. Why not pledge to ban unions for Federal employees on day one of a Romney Presidency? Let the states that don’t do the same suffer the competitive losses to the states that do.